Once again, we hear on the news of a riot.
After St. Louis police officer Jason Stockley was recently found not guilty of murdering Anthony Lamar Smith back in 2011, a three day riot commenced.
It started out on Sept. 15 as a protest of injustice for a man whom they believed was maliciously murdered by said officer. The protest quickly turned into a destructive riot. According to CNN, police officers were attacked and vehicles were vandalized.
Plenty of demonstrators broke away from the peaceful protest at nightfall for more lawless activities. More than 80 people were arrested, according to NPR, for looting, vandalizing and assaulting officers with rocks and chemicals.
Rioters have been a problem in past protests before as well. Georgia Tech held a protest for a student who was killed by a police officer. The student was allegedly suicidal, holding out some sort of multipurpose tool and yelling “shoot me.” Some demonstrators turned to violence, according to AJC, as rioters set a police car ablaze.
When people come together to protest injustice, they are trying to show that they care and are not in approval of the current way things are; however, when people who were protesting begin rioting, the reasons for protesting become blurred and misconstrued, leaving many to turn their focus from the problem at hand to the problem of the riots.
If you fight violence with violence, you prove you’re no better than the people you oppose. If you truly want to get something done, then peaceful protest and spreading awareness is the answer. There will always be those who try to take advantage of a tragedy for personal gain, but that shouldn’t keep people from trying to expose the injustices seen every day in our cities and country.
There is no doubt that Stockley should be held accountable, but that can’t be done when cop cars are on fire and protesters are in cuffs. No one wants to listen to the people who were seen assaulting an officer.
Stand up for what you believe in, but do it in a healthy and legal manner; otherwise, you’ll just have more of the same.
On Wednesday, Sept. 20, according to the Huffington Post, police suppressed a peaceful demonstration saying it was unlawful. Police ordered the protesters to evacuate the area, while later police in riot gear shut down the demonstration.
It seems even when the protests are peaceful and lawful, protesters are still treated with caution. This could be due to earlier actions taken by rioters, however; those who wish to protest are within their right and should not be shut down because of actions taken by others.
There seem to be extremes on the side of civilians and police when it comes to protests. Police are scared of protesters becoming violent, and shut down peaceful protests, while protesters are angry and go on riots. Neither is an acceptable action.
Steven Tagliente can be reached at voices.spectator@gmail.com.
The term is outdated. It no longer applies to what family is today or what family has become over the century since the word was popularized. |
Let’s be frank. The anti-mask movement isn’t based on science. It’s annoyance over having to care about others and not being able to live a “normal life.” |
Valentine’s Day is one of the only holidays we haven’t yet had to adapt to COVID-19 restrictions, so many are now scrambling to figure out what they can safely do with their loved ones. |
Instead of resolutions, people should aim to make improvements part of their routine rather than a task to complete. Creating healthy routines is more important than ever with those confined at home. |
By Sam Bohen
This is a deep-dive list. A list filled with titles that will impress your relatives when you mention them around the roast beast (but do not actually gather, of course, because of the pandemic). |
By Julia Carden
Through these actions, Trump is trying to create a reality that matches his desires. He is also encouraging his followers to agree with his beliefs: he doesn’t think it’s over and he still believes there's a chance he'll be re-elected. |
"Over the last 7 days, there has been an upward trend in our positive cases of COVID-19 among students. Student Health Services has been working diligently to support testing, quarantining and isolation to help minimize the spread."
The English department stated on Facebook that “he had been in the hospital fighting COVID-19 and recently seemed to be making good progress toward recovery.”
“We will continue to follow the science, but we are very hopeful that students can return to in-person classes, living in our residence halls and engaging in more activities.”